Overcoming barriers to effective technology integration in higher education institutions

Abstract

It is extremely important for the use of technology in order to improve teaching, learning, and student engagement in higher education. But still, technological, institutional, and pedagogical barriers exist that prevent effective implementation of technology in education. The purpose of this study was to find out the major barriers to the integration of technology. This study has tested the effectiveness of an intervention based on technology integration in solving these barriers among the undergraduate students at Government Postgraduate College, Muzaffargarh, Pakistan. Pretest-posttest experimental research design was used for this study. There were 120 undergraduate students in the population of this study and 92 students were selected randomly. The descriptive statistics were employed to detect the existing barriers, whereas the inferential statistical analysis was applied to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. The findings revealed that poor technological infrastructure, low digital competence, lack of institutional support, and poor internet connection were the main barriers to efficient technology integration. After conducting the intervention, there were observed significant changes in students' digital competence, technology integration perceptions, and involvement in educational processes, which demonstrated the effectiveness of the intervention in mitigating the influence of barriers. In conclusion, the present study has shown that the specific strategy of technology integration backed up by the institutional commitment, sufficient infrastructure, and continuous digital skills development can effectively deal with barriers and improve teaching and learning in higher education institutions.